


Home Is Where The Mask Is

by jihyunkim



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Author Doesn't Know How to Tag Things, Bittersweet(ish), Gen, Graduation, It's okay though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 07:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16698460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jihyunkim/pseuds/jihyunkim
Summary: Nazuna reluctantly agrees to help Wataru clean out the Theatre Club room.





	Home Is Where The Mask Is

Nazuna was rather tired. The last few days of the school year—his final school year—were pretty hectic, and he still had what he assumed would be an especially exhausting afternoon waiting for him. Despite his other commitments, he had agreed to help Wataru clean out the theatre club room. He nearly declined, but something about the Oddball’s behavior made him reconsider.

 

Wataru explained that his offer to leave the belongings brought from his home for future club members had been denied, reason being that they felt it would be discontinued without the actor to keep it going. Nazuna didn’t quite believe that would happen. Wataruchin was not well-liked among the student council (Tenshouin excluded), nor with the teachers, but it seemed a little too mean to be true. Besides, why wouldn’t they want donations? He’d decided against voicing this, instead shrugging it off and going along with Wataru’s request. 

 

Nazuna didn’t dislike the theatre club room, per se, but the idea of helping Wataru clean wasn’t too exciting. Tomoya had once told him where the hidden pranks the Oddball set were, but he wasn’t sure if Wataru had added to the collection since then. Upon opening the door, however,  he was greeted by a room lacking the charm it’d once had. It was still cluttered, even more so with the costumes and curtains that had covered the walls in varying states of disarray. 

 

He saw Wataru sitting beside a trunk, placing a dress Nazuna recognized from one of Tomoya’s horror stories inside. The magician looked up at him once he was done and jumped back to what Nazuna assumed he thought liveliness looked like, though he seemed far more artificial this way, with a plastic smile and empty eyes. 

 

“Ah, little rabbit! How kind of you to join me! Here, a rose as thanks!” A yellow rose appeared in his hand, and he gave Nazuna a deep bow as he offered it to him. 

 

“Sure, thanks, but I told you I’d come, didn’t I?”

 

“So you did!” Wataru agreed and tossed another yellow rose his way. Nazuna caught it, though he wasn’t sure what to do with them. He settled for setting them down on the arm of the couch, though he wasn’t sure if that would need to be moved as well. He wouldn’t be much help, there...

 

“Y’know I’m bad with heavy lifting, though, right?” 

 

“Of course.” Wataru moved across the room, removing a set of billiards balls from their place on the wall ( _ Why does he have those? _ ) and tossing each one into the trunk. “I only need your assistance with packing away some odds and ends!” 

 

Nazuna nodded and walked towards the trunk once Wataru stopped throwing the balls into it. It looked rather full, but he couldn’t see anything else that could be used to pack up. He figured that they could find what they needed somewhere on campus, at least.

 

“Do you have any other boxes?” Nazuna asked.

 

“Oh, the trunk will do. It can hold far more than it appears.” Wataru grinned at him as he pulled a prop sword out of it as a demonstration. Nazuna soon realized the blade was about three times the length of a normal sword, and seemingly far too long to fit within the trunk. 

 

Point taken. 

 

The two worked together quietly, and the only reprieve from the unexpected silence came from Nazuna’s questions about what should and shouldn’t be put in the trunk. It became his own guessing game, predicting which oddities were purchased with school funds and which came from Wataru’s own collection.   
  
After some time, Wataru stopped working. He gazed at a mask in his hands, before glancing around the room with a somber expression. “I wonder… will this continue, or shall I say my final farewells?” Nazuna blinked, stopping what he was doing and looking over at him. He’d only heard Wataruchin sound like this once before… not that the magician knew. Or maybe he did. It wouldn’t be surprising. 

 

Wataru’s next words were softer, mostly to himself. “If they continue without me, perhaps Tomoya will find what he came here in search of.” Nazuna understood. He knew his kids were going to be just fine without him, even if  _ they _ didn’t, but that still didn’t help the fear he felt at times. And despite Wataru’s usually keen understanding of others, he still had his fair share of blind spots. Tomoya was one of them. 

 

It didn’t help matters that Tomochin had made quite a show of being glad that Wataru was leaving. Nazuna couldn’t say he blamed him, what with everything the older boy had put him through, but… it wasn’t fully sincere.

 

“You know… Tomochin’s learned a lot from you.” Nazuna hadn’t expected to speak up about it, but he hoped that some assurance would make Wataru feel better. It was going to be hard enough leaving Yumenosaki behind, he didn’t need to misinterpret the impact he made as well. “I know you don’t see eye-to-eye often, but he’s grown up a lot this year. You were part of that, Wataruchin.” 

 

Wataru fell silent for several moments, eyes scanning the mask with a more intense gaze. Then, he hummed thoughtfully in response and placed it in the trunk. The stiffness in his shoulders eased slightly, and he looked around at the notable progress the two of them had made.

 

“ _ Amazing! _ We’ve almost finished!” He announced, leaping to his feet and skipping around the room to double check for anything that might have fallen out of its designated space. Nazuna was a little surprised by the abrupt change in behavior, but at least now it didn’t seem quite as fake. He could understand Wataru’s hesitance at breaking character for too long— once you were used to a role, willing or not, it became difficult to turn it off. 

 

When Wataru declared they hadn’t left anything out, the two moved on to cleaning up what was left behind. There were plenty of costumes and props, and Wataru hadn’t managed to cram any furniture into the trunk from what he could tell. Still a well-stocked room, now only lacking the kind of magic Wataru brought with him everywhere. 

 

They were interrupted by a very confused Hokuto opening the door. He looked from Wataru to Nazuna, then to the bare walls of the theatre club room. “What have you  _ done _ in here?” 

 

“Hokuto! If I knew you were going to drop in, I wouldn’t have troubled the little rabbit with such boring work!” Wataru feigned a mixture of shame and dismay, giving Nazuna an exaggeratedly apologetic look. “I was told, were the theatre club not to continue next year, that my personal belongings shouldn’t be left behind!” To illustrate his point, the trunk appeared to levitate and floated steadily to the magician’s side. Wataru patted it as if it were a pet and not a storage container. 

 

Hokuto let out a long sigh, before saying, “I was under the assumption that I would be taking over as theatre club president next year.” Nazuna’s eyes widened and he looked over at Wataru. His hand stalled on its way to give the trunk another scratch, and he was looking at Hokuto with an unreadable expression.

 

“Wait…  _ you didn’t ask him _ ?” Nazuna squeaked, and the reminder that he was still there seemed to stir Wataru into into action. He looked genuinely embarrassed for a brief moment before he traded it for a small smile.

 

“I… I assumed you wouldn’t be interested.” 

 

“Why would you think that? I want this to be a proper club more than _ you _ do.” Hokuto huffed in annoyance, crossing his arms and glaring at the state the room was in. “Since you’ve already packed up, are you going to take everything with you after all?” 

 

“Of course not!” Wataru cried, despite the fact that he’d intended to do that very thing. The trunk descended gently to the ground and Wataru shot the two of them a dazzling smile. “To leave Yumenosaki without leaving a lasting mark… I could never!” 

 

Nazuna easily returned the smile, though he was trying not to be annoyed by all the work they’d done for nothing.  _ Oh well _ , he thought.  _ At least Wataruchin knows the club is in good hands _ . 

 

“Little rabbit, I apologize for wasting your afternoon.” Wataru murmured, and Nazuna couldn’t tell if the sheepish expression was real or not before he was rummaging around in his trunk once again. After a moment, he pulled out a stuffed rabbit about half Nazuna’s size and presented it to him. “Here, as a token of my appreciation.” 

 

“How did you fit that…” Nazuna trailed off. Better not to ask questions. He took the rabbit and smiled, hugging the soft plush closely. “Wataruchin, you didn’t have to… Thank you.” Wataru grinned and nodded in response before turning his attention to Hokuto.

 

“So, my dear club president to-be! Shall we return our home to its former glory?” 

 

There was a long silence before Hokuto gave a slight shrug. “I suppose. But I get a say in decor this time.” 

 

Nazuna watched them with a grin. Careful not to ruin the moment, the Ra*bit slipped out of the club room with his new plushie in tow. Well… that could’ve been worse.

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was originally in Graduation! Enstars Zine. Link: https://gumroad.com/l/enstars3rdyears !
> 
> Huge thank you to my best friend, @inkreservior, for making this fic hurt a lot less than it could've. And for editing. And for the title. And for encouraging me. And for always letting me cry at you about how I'm not a writer the moment I have to actually write. And for being perfect in general. And existing.
> 
> As always, kudos and/or comments are super appreciated!


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